I have a suggestion for Connect Magazine. Start a monthly column that is one page, call it something like BlogWatch, and on that page print the intro parts to 5-10 blog posts made by Utah bloggers that might be of interest to Connect’s readership. Then include links to the homepages of the blogs where the posts can be found.
How would this benefit Connect Magazine?
1. It forces someone at Connect to regularly go out and read blogs which will keep them more informed about the Utah business scene and perhaps lead to more and better stories. Perhaps someone there already does this, but certainly having this column would provide extra incentive.
2. It shows the readership that Connect is supporting new media and gives the magazine a certain caché. Or it’s just one more thing that separates Connect from all the stodgy business magazines out there that don’t get it.
3. It’s a way to bring more attention to Utah bloggers, not just from other Utahns but from out-of-staters as well. That extra push of exposure could make a difference in how the Utah business community is perceived at large. In this way it would support Connect’s mission of attracting more attention to Utah (I’m not sure that’s part of a written mission statement for Connect anywhere, but I’m pretty sure they’d agree that’s a large part of what they’re trying to do).
4. It would make hundreds of Utah bloggers supportive of Connect, and that would probably bring more exposure back to Connect, increasing the number of subscribers and advertisers.
Now I had the thought that maybe this column would be better if it were one guy, an expert on blogging, who would profile one or two Utah blogs each month, but I don’t think that would be as effective. People don’t need a description of each blog, they just need to get a taste of the quality of the content on a blog and if that whets their appetite then they’ll make the trip to get a closer look. I say avoid any fluff and just print excerpts from the blogs themselves with no commentary.
If you see any other reason why it would be good for Connect to do this or if you see any reason against it, I’d love to know what you think and why. And if you’re behind the idea then send a link to this to post to the folks at Connect and let’s see what they think.
This is a great idea: what great exposure for Connect Magazine and an excellent way to reach out and get “connected” to a large technology and business community, of which most of its members have a blog.
I also think it would be a great idea for Connect to link to business-related blogs in Utah. I talked to some Connect staff at one of the Fight Club dinners and it seemed like they were toying with the idea of doing something like that, but I think hey were trying to get bloggers to write specifically for them (rather than syndicating).
Anyway, if they would like a business version of the Utah Open Source Planet (http://openclue.org/ut/) I would be happy to help set it up.
I think Connect has a few things up its sleeves right now, but I’m not sure exactly what all of it is.
Russell
Thanks to Russell for sending me the link to Josh for the great ideas. Connect has actually been working on something the last few months and I can’t say anything in public until I know it’s going to fly or not (will know soon), but we hope to soon publish highlights from and links to current Utah bloggers – (and also new bloggers writing for us) both online and in the printed magazine.
Josh, you bring up some interesting thoughts that I’ll be sure to consider. In fact, as soon as I can (one to two weeks tops) I want to run the plan past you and see what kind of input you have.
Josh,
Great idea and it looks like Connect might bite! Don’t you love it when you blog about something and the CEO reponds??
I’m a Connect reader & writer and very interested in Utah companies. I was referred to your blog today. I’ll have to add it to the Bloglines and/or blogroll.
I will soon have blogging as part of my job description which is pretty exciting.
Hope to talk to you about U|Tech, my entrepreneurial launch. It’s an internet marketing for businesses conference. http://www.utechconference.com. I think your audience would be interested…
Best
Janet
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